The brows are one of the biggest indicators of the zeitgeist. In the ’90s, everyone was a little too heavy-handed with their tweezers, with thin brows being the most in vogue at the time. Later on, the “brows on fleek” movement had girls drawing on blocked, heavily tinted brows. Today, laminated brows are the trend du jour. But does that mean the trendiest looks suit everyone?

Award-winning brow artist Pia Lee is one of the country’s pioneers of hairstroke techniques, an eyebrow tattooing method that creates airy hair-like strokes with lesser downtime. In turn, Lee’s expertise draws people from all over the world to her clinic in Bulacan to achieve brows that enhance their features and make them feel confident.  

In a one-on-one interview with Allure Philippines she shares her professional brow tips on finding the right brows for you despite fast-changing trends—from understanding facial harmony and brow shape to how brows can even transform one’s expression.

How do eyebrows change the way our face is perceived? 

Brows frame the face, like, how it will make a person more beautiful. Like, for example, it doesn’t mean that if  their eyebrows are small, it’s already ugly. It also doesn’t mean that their  eyebrows are long, it’s already beautiful. It’s not like that.

So, as a brow artist, that’s my job, to design the brows that match the appearance and lifestyle of our client.

What’s a small thing that can completely change someone’s face? 

Of course, the brows. The brows are not the main feature of our face. It will always be the eyes, the nose, the lips. What the brows do is enhance it. So, it’s like a supporting role of these features. So, if you put on brows, for example, your eyes brighten your nose, it enhances your nose, lips. 

How are eyebrows important in our facial features?

It’s very important, because they can see another version of them when they have brows that really suit them. 

What are some of the eyebrow shapes that you do for your clients? 

When I design the brows, I don’t design it uniformly. So, we study facial symmetry, we have what we call muscle pulls—the client’s expression. We don’t have a stencil that we follow. You look at how the client speaks, you look at the angle where it’s beautiful, and we bring out what their beautiful expression is.It really depends. 

You can’t say, I want this brow, this is what you do to me. It doesn’t work like that. Every client has their own brows. We always say that the brows don’t have to be symmetrical, they don’t have to be uniform. They have to be balanced. That’s why our motto in our clinic is kahit hindi pantay, basta bagay. 

Does our eyebrow arch affect our facial expression? 

Definitely, our expressions are normally on the eyebrows. And then, we have emotions that we create, so, it needs the right spacing in the eyes. You look at the symmetry, the distance of the eyes to the eyebrows. 

If it’s too high, it makes you look like you’re always awake. And if it’s too low, it makes you look like you’re always sad.

What is the Yapistrokes technique?

Yapistrokes is different from microblading. So, what we do is we do not slice the skin. I’m one of the first to introduce that in the Philippines. It doesn’t have downtime. If you have a party later, you can still party and no one will notice that you did something to your eyebrows—it’s very wearable. 


That’s the difference with other procedures because, with some you have to stay at home for one week to heal first. I made the technique for those clients who want little, or no downtime.

Frequently Asked Questions

According to award-winning Filipino brow artist Pia Lee, the right brow shape is determined by studying facial symmetry, muscle pulls, and the client’s natural expressions — not by following a stencil or a trending shape. Brows should be balanced to the individual’s features rather than symmetrical or uniform. Pia Lee’s clinic motto — kahit hindi pantay, basta bagay (not necessarily even, but suited to you) — reflects this philosophy of facial harmony over trend replication.

Yes, significantly. Pia Lee explains that arch placement directly shapes perceived expression: an arch set too high creates the appearance of permanent wide-eyed alertness, while one set too low gives the impression of a consistently downcast or sad expression. The correct arch height is calibrated to the distance between the eyes and brows, the client’s natural muscle movement, and the emotional register they want their face to convey at rest.

Yapistrokes is a hairstroke eyebrow tattooing technique pioneered in the Philippines by Pia Lee that creates airy, hair-like strokes without slicing the skin, unlike traditional microblading. Because the skin is not cut, the technique carries little to no downtime — clients can resume normal activity, including social events, immediately after the procedure. Pia Lee developed the method specifically for clients who want natural-looking brow enhancement without the healing period associated with conventional brow tattooing procedures.

Pia Lee advises against adopting trending brow shapes without considering individual facial structure. While trends like laminated brows, blocked brows, or thin brows cycle in and out of fashion, what makes a brow flattering is its relationship to a specific face — including the spacing of the eyes, the natural expression lines, and the client’s lifestyle. A trending shape that does not align with a person’s facial harmony can work against their features rather than enhancing them.

Pia Lee describes eyebrows as a supporting feature — not the focal point of the face, but the framing element that enhances the eyes, nose, and lips. Well-designed brows can brighten the eyes, refine the appearance of the nose, and bring proportion to the overall face. Their significance lies not in size or thickness alone, but in how they are shaped and positioned relative to a person’s unique facial structure and natural expression.

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